CISSP Security and Risk Management Practice Question
This CISSP practice question tests your understanding of security and risk management. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company's risk assessment identifies a high likelihood of a data breach due to outdated encryption standards. The cost to upgrade encryption is $50,000, and the estimated loss from a breach is $2,000,000. The risk manager decides to implement the upgrade. Which risk treatment option is being applied?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Risk mitigation
The risk manager is applying risk mitigation by implementing the encryption upgrade to reduce the likelihood or impact of a data breach. This directly addresses the identified risk by deploying a stronger cryptographic control, such as moving from AES-128 to AES-256 or replacing deprecated TLS 1.0/1.1 with TLS 1.3, thereby lowering the residual risk to an acceptable level.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
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Risk acceptance
Why it's wrong here
The company is taking action, not accepting the risk.
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Risk avoidance
Why it's wrong here
Avoidance would require discontinuing the use of encryption, not upgrading.
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Risk enhancement
Why it's wrong here
Enhancement is not a standard risk treatment option.
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Risk transfer
Why it's wrong here
Transfer would involve shifting the risk to a third party, e.g., cybersecurity insurance.
✓
Risk mitigation
Why this is correct
Upgrading encryption reduces the likelihood of a breach, which is risk mitigation.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is confusing risk mitigation with risk avoidance, as candidates may think avoiding outdated encryption means avoiding the risk entirely, but risk avoidance requires ceasing the risky activity, not upgrading the control.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Risk mitigation, also called risk reduction, involves implementing controls to lower the probability or impact of a risk event. In this scenario, upgrading encryption standards—such as moving from 3DES to AES-256 or from SHA-1 to SHA-256—directly reduces the vulnerability that attackers could exploit. The cost-benefit analysis shows a clear net benefit ($50,000 cost vs. $2,000,000 potential loss), making mitigation the economically rational choice under the FAIR (Factor Analysis of Information Risk) model.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A developer is choosing between AES-256 (symmetric) and RSA-2048 (asymmetric) for encrypting a large file that will be sent to a partner. Symmetric encryption is fast but requires key exchange; asymmetric is slower but solves the key distribution problem. A hybrid approach — encrypt the file with AES, encrypt the AES key with RSA — is standard. Questions like this test whether you understand when each approach applies.
Related glossary terms
Concepts from this question explained
These glossary pages explain the core terms tested in this CISSP question in full detail.
Security and Risk Management — This question tests Security and Risk Management — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Risk mitigation — The risk manager is applying risk mitigation by implementing the encryption upgrade to reduce the likelihood or impact of a data breach. This directly addresses the identified risk by deploying a stronger cryptographic control, such as moving from AES-128 to AES-256 or replacing deprecated TLS 1.0/1.1 with TLS 1.3, thereby lowering the residual risk to an acceptable level.
What should I do if I get this CISSP question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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